Werdringen Castle & Hohenlimburg CastleScary stories and old bones

Fossils millions of years old, the bones of the oldest Westphalian and a "black hand" that has given generations of children goosebumps: the "finds" that can be discovered during a visit to Werdringen moated castle range from ancient to eerily beautiful. Werdringen Moated Castle on the banks of Lake Harkort in Hagen and in nearby Hohenlimburg Castle. Hohenlimburg Castle can be discovered. While a metre-high mammoth welcomes visitors of all ages here, just 16 kilometres further on they can venture into a walk-in dungeon with the night watchman.

The history of Werdringen moated castle at the foot of the legendary Kaisberg can be traced back to the 13th century. However, its speciality is not so much the complex itself, but the historical landscape in which it was once built. During excavations in the national geotope in the former Vorhalle brickworks, huge prehistoric insects and other fossilised animals more than 300 million years old were discovered. They are now part of the collection of the Hagen Archaeological Museum, which was opened at Werdringen Moated Castle a good 20 years ago, as are the remains of a dinosaur from the Cretaceous period. In contrast, the bones of the "oldest" Westphalian are comparatively young. They are around 11,000 years old and were found in the Blätterhöhle cave in Hagen. Finds from the cave also point to Stone Age burials and early settlement history in the cave. After a visit to the museum and a short break in the castle courtyard of the idyllically situated complex, you can explore further archaeological and architectural monuments on the geological trail, which opens up the earliest coal seams worth mining in the Ruhr Area.

Hohenlimburg Castle on the Schleipenberg, just a few kilometres away, was first mentioned in the 13th century. It is the only medieval hilltop castle in Westphalia that has been largely preserved in its original state - including the walk-in dungeon, the outer bailey with its saluting cannons and the battlements, from which the view extends far over the Lenne valley. At the beginning of the 21st century, the baroque ornamental garden, which the Bentheim-Tecklenburg family, who still own Hohenlimburg Castle today, had laid out as part of the castle's expansion into a residence, was redesigned according to the historical model. However, the "Black Hand" is the main attraction of the exhibition on the history of the castle, which provides insights into the princely living culture of the 18th and 19th centuries in the new palace. The mummified body part was actually found in the ruins of the keep, which was destroyed by lightning in 1811. It is probably a piece of medieval evidence from an unsolved murder investigation. However, generations of children have been told a different story. Namely that of the boy who had beaten his mother and was punished for it - we can guess how - by the executioner.

It remains to be seen whether the spooky tall tale still has any effect on children and young people today. However, it is definitely worth taking the whole family on an excursion to the region around the two castles in Hagen. Both Lake Harkort and the neighbouring Lake Hengstey, whose landmarks are the impressive pipelines and the striking RWE lettering on the valve house of the former Köpchen power station, offer numerous sports and leisure activities on and around the water in good weather. And you can also get to Iserlohn quickly by train. The Dechen Cave there is probably the only stalactite cave of its kind with its own railway siding.